Kosherology

By Alex the Kosherologist

In March of 1993, my father had the privilege of being featured in the food/metro section of the Atlanta Journal- Constitution. With Passover approaching, one of the newspaper’s food columnist approached my father at his kosher bakery with the idea of featuring his bakery and some of his select recipes in honor of the upcoming holiday. Being that the bakery was not kosher-for-passover, nor many of his bakery recipes appropriate for the holiday, my father suggested that the AJC feature a recipe for a traditional Jewish dish for Passover instead- and one of our family favorites and holiday staples for both Passover and Rosh Hashanah: Tzimmes.

With the headline “Baker keeps a ‘proper’ kitchen,” my father’s awesome Carrot and Sweet Potato Tzimmes (which he learned to make by the guidance of his mother and by observing his grandmothers in their kitchens) graced the pages of the Atlanta paper. The recipe is simple and the dish packs an awesome sweet old-world flavor that will make this one of your holiday favorites. It is said that the name “tzimmes” comes from the yiddish words tzim (for) and essen (eating). If that’s truly the case, then I think its really awesome how this dish comes with”instructions”.

Meat

Serves 10-12

Ingredients
2 ½ – 3 lb. flanken (short ribs)
Fresh grated onion or Onion powder
Fresh minced garlic or Garlic powder
2 lb. carrots, sliced
3 large sweet potatoes, cubed
1 small onion
2 TBS. margarine
2 TBS. Potato Starch
½ -3/4 cup brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Season meat well with salt, pepper, onion (powder), and garlic( powder).

2. Sear the meat in an un-greased frying pan for 3-5 minutes on each side.
3. Place into a 6 quart pot and let sit in the refrigerator for several hours.
4. Remove meat from refrigerator, cover with water and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer for approximately 2 ½ -3 hours, or until meat is tender.
6. Add carrots and sweet potatoes and cook another ½ hour.
7. Melt margarine in a small pan.
8. Add flour to margarine and stir until smooth.
9. Add brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
10. Preheat oven to 350°F.
11. Spoon the vegetables and meat onto the bottom of a 10x15x3 inch oven safe dish.
12. Pour sauce over tzimmes and bake for 1 hour, or until all vegetables in the mixture are glazed and lightly browned.